Song of Red Love-beans

Song of Red Love-beans is from the very famous Chinese classical novel [Dream of the Red Chamber] by Cao Xueqin (1715-1763). This Song was singing by the main character, a young man, Jia Baoyu, and the lyrics uses a series of comparison sentences to express the situation of young people in love who are troubled by love.

In 1943 Mr. Liu Xue-An composed the melody for it.

English translation of the lyrics by David Hawkes：

Still weeping tears of blood about our separation.
Little red love-beans of my desolation.
Still blooming flowers I see outside my window growing.
Still awake in the dark I hear the wind a-blowing.
Still oh still I can’t forget those old hopes and fears.
Still can’t swallow food and drink, ‘cos I’m choked with tears.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me it’s not true.
Do I look so thin and pale, do I look so blue?
Mirror, mirror, this long night how shall I get through?
Oh—oh—oh!
Blue as the mist upon the distant mountains,
Blue as the water in the ever-flowing fountains.

紅豆詞  詩詞：曹雪芹
滴不盡相思血淚拋紅豆
開不完春柳春花滿畫樓
睡不穩紗窗風雨黃昏後
忘不了新愁與舊愁
咽不下玉粒金噎滿喉
瞧不見鏡花容瘦
展不開眉頭 捱不明更漏
啊…… 啊……
恰似遮不住的青山隱隱
流不斷的綠水悠悠
作曲 劉雪庵 (1943)

My cello playing or Song of Red Love-beans 

姜夔 暗香

今日讀到, 姜夔的詞呈現明顯的賦化, 即心即物, 即物即心, 著意於物, 也著意於心. 兼詩歌與散文於一體.

Today I read that Jiang Kui's poem are obviously influenced by Fu (poetry) style. That is, the heart (or the mind) is the object; the object is the heart. And the focus is on both the object and the heart, with the style that the poetry and the prose are as one.

〈辛亥之冬，予載雪詣石湖。止既月，授索句，且徵新聲，作此兩曲。石湖把玩不已，使工妓習之，音節諧婉，乃名之暗香、影。〉

An Xian (Secret Fragrance) preface:
"In the winter of 1191, I took ship through the snow to visit Shi-hu and stayed a whole month. He gave me notepaper and asked for my verses. He also asked for new tunes. I made these two songs. Shis-hu's pleasure knew no end. He caused two singing-girls to practice them. As he found the melodies pure and the harmony agreeable, he gave them the title 'Secret Fragrance'and 'Dappled Shadows'." -- Jiang Kui (English translation by Laurence Picken)

舊時月色，算幾番照我，梅邊吹笛
In former times, the moon's countenance
(Probably on  occasions) has shone upon me beside a plum tree, playing the flute.

喚起玊人，不管春寒與攀摘。
I called my beautiful love to rise regardless of the cold; together we picked the blossom.

何遜而今漸老，都忘卻春風詞筆。
Ho Shun now is slowly ageing. He has forgotten the springtime style of his early verse.
(* Ho Hsun was a sixth century poet famous for his verses on plum-blossom. Jiang Kui identifies himslef with him.)

但怪得竹外疏花，暗香冷入瑤席。
Even now, surprisingly, beyond the bamboos, there are scattered flowers. The fragrance coldly enters the banqueting hall.

江國，正寂寂，歎寄與路遙，夜雪初積。
The River Country is lonely indeed. Sighing I send my thoughts over the long road; the evening snow begins to pile up.

翠尊易泣，紅萼無言耿相憶。
Into the kingfisher-blue wine-cup tears freely flowed; Red-calyx did not speak, disturbed by mutual memories.

長記攜手處，千樹壓西湖寒碧。
Long shall I remember the places where I led you by the hand. A myriad trees screen the West Lake's chill jade-green.

又片片吹盡也，幾時見得？
Petal by petal, all is blown away. When shall we be able to see it again?
(English translation by Laurence Picken)

後代評語:
宋 張炎 [辭源] :白石詞...不惟清空, 且又騷雅, 讀之使人神觀飛越
清 先著 程洪 [詞潔輯評]:用意之妙, 總使人不覺, ... 用字高, 煉句密, 泯其來蹤去跡矣